2. For what we received in Adam, I answer, Though Adam was not bound to believe in Christ, yet he had a power of believing all that was revealed of God, as he that is fallen blind had a power of seeing the house afterward built.
Use. To apply this first inference. If there be no way of life, no doctrine of salvation but only the christian religion, that which holds forth God in Christ, then —
1. It presseth us to bless God for the knowledge of the gospel. Oh, how many thousands in the world are there that are as sheep, wdiom no man taketh up, but are spilt upon the great common of the world, and left to the process of divine justice. Let us bless God for our privileges, that we have such fair advantages ; certainly if we look to the hole of the pit out of which we were digged, we were as bad as others. The old Britons worshipped the most monstrous and mis- shapen idols ; this was our original in the day that God looked upon us. If we abuse our privileges, and be unthankful for the light of the gospel, he may return us again to our old barbarism. The Lord threatened Israel : Hosea ii. 3, ' I will strip her naked, and set her as in the day that she was born,' The Lord may strip u.s naked, and take away all our spiritual favours ; and while we run after new lights, the Lord may remove the old light from us. We are afraid of popery ; this is not altogether so bad as atheism ; therefore let us be thankful and careful to improve those advantages God hath j)ut into our hands. We cannot be thankful enough for the knowledge of God in Jesus Christ, it is a great mystery, not only pleasing to the thoughts, but healing to the soul. The Lord is angry with the gentiles, and hath brought many judgments on them for putting the finger in nature's
VeR. G.] sermons UPOX HEBREWS XI. 7D
eye. Oli, what will be our misery for quenching or slighting the light of the gospel, and the excellent revelation God hath made to us of Christ. The heathens had some obscure knowledge of God, but we have the revelation of the knowledge of God in the face of Jesus Christ. By their own consciences they knew the moral law ; God offered terms of duty to them, but he offers terms of salvation and grace to us.
2. It presseth us to prize orthodoxism, and, above all things, look to this, to be right in point of belief. Every man shall not be saved in every persuasion, nay, though they do in general acknowledge Christ. There are a sort of libertines risen up, that think the dilFer- ences and controversies in Christendom with Socinians and Avminians are but vain and frivolous, and that a loose belief of God and Christ is enough. It this general faith be enough, then why hath God revealed so many things to us, and given us a more ample rule, if with safety to salvation we may be ignorant of them ? Why hath he appointed us to contend for the faith of the saints, and for the truth that is revealed in the scripture ? as whether you are redeemed with a satis- faction, or whether you are justified by his righteousness or works ? It is no matter, say they, for these lesser explications. Such men seem to tax the scriptures, that they have redundancies and superfluous doc- trines, and they seem to tax the holy apostles of rash zeal, when they disputed so earnestly for the faith of the saints ; as Paul against jus- ticiaries for the righteousness of faith, and James against antinomians and libertines for care of good works. And they tax the holy mar- tyrs of folly, that they would shed their blood for less concerning articles ; so all be resolved into Christ. Men think this is enough. Men need not inquire into the manner of the application of his righteousness, the efficacy of his price, the merit of his passion, as if it were enough to hold a few generals, and the more implicit our faith is the better ; whereas, the Lord would have us to abound in knowledge, and to have the word dwell in us richly.
What articles are absolutely necessary to salvation will be hard to define and determine, and what tliat measure of faith is without which we cannot please God. And I know not by what rule to proceed ; if we should make it too large, it would be a ground of ignorance and laziness ; if we make it too strict, it would be a ground of uucharitable- ness to them that labour under invincible prejudices. Only that you may not be loose in this matter, take a few rules.
[1.] The foundations of religion are God and Christ, and they must be held with great certainty : John xvii. 3, ' This is life eternal to know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent' We cannot be saved unless we hold one God in three persons, and Jesus Christ as mediator. These are the supreme truths that are clearly revealed and propounded to our faith. But now for practical truths ; for the way of enjoying God and Christ, they are revealed in other texts : John xvi. 8, ' When the comforter shall come, he shall convince the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment.' This is the doc- trine the Spirit teacheth in the church, to convince of sin, and the curse that remains upon man while he is under the power of nature ; of ' righteousness,^ of the sufficient satisfaction of the Lord Jesus Christ, of judgment and holiness. It is very dangerous to hearken to